1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to beverage cups and, more particularly, to a novel hot beverage cup having an inner chamber to maintain the beverage at constant temperature.
2. Description of the Related Art
Coffee, tea and other hot beverages are enjoyed by people almost every day. Many people cannot start their day without a cup of their favorite hot beverage. However, everyone knows that a cup of freshly poured coffee is too hot to drink from and must be blown on so just a sip can be taken. Likewise, a cup of coffee will cool quickly as well and be unsuitable for drinking. This fact is evident by the abundance of coffee warmers on the market that are used to keep a cup of coffee warm while a person is sitting at a desk. All of these facts lead to the conclusion that during the entire life cycle of a cup of coffee, only a small percentage of the time is the temperature optimal for drinking. Most of the time it is either too hot or too cold. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a solution to these problems associated with drinking hot beverages. The development of the constant temperature beverage cup fulfills this need.
In the related art, there exist patents for beverage containers that utilize an insulator barrier such as air as in the present invention. However, there exists no patents which utilize a separate chamber which draws a small amount of beverage into it prior to consumption for cooling the beverage faster than that in the main beverage chamber. Nor are there any devices that attempt to prevent the rapid cooling of a hot beverage and provide a beverage to be served at a more constant temperature.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 5,524,817 Meier et al. Jun. 11, 1996 5,515,995 Allen et al. May 14, 1996 4,261,501 Watkins et al. Apr. 14, 1981 2,591,578 McNealy et al. Dec. 20, 1947 5,842,353 Kuo-Liang Jun. 11, 1996 5,071,060 DeFelice Dec. 10, 1991 4,720,023 Jeff Jan. 19, 1988 4,151,923 Bernardi May 1, 1979 4,141,462 Rucci Feb. 27, 1979 D 372,168 Seager Jul. 30, 1996 ______________________________________
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus and method which prevent the rapid cooling of a hot beverage and maintains the beverage for consumption at a more constant temperature.